Dorathen Better Late Then Never

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Rainey Dawn From a female standpoint of view, there is no (real) beefcake here because they all look like a bunch of apes. Spartacus being the ugliest of the apes. Good thing this is a comedy! They have Spartacus and his 10 merry men rebelling against fighting their own in the coliseum sports. Yet half of the film is of Spartacus and his 10 men fighting their own. Ironic ain't it. They roll around really well on the ground too. :P It's a terrible B film but does have some funny stuff that makes it worth watching on this rainy morning. It's an awful movie but it is cheap entertainment from the Mill Creek Warriors 50-Pack.3.5/10

bkoganbing I don't exactly follow this genre, but there was a series of 10 Gladiator films in which ten muscle dudes went around in ancient Rome doing the good deeds and flexing their pecs at every opportunity. Dan Vadis heads the group and the Italian producers seem to be trying for a Seven Ronin type film without the success. Other than Vadis as the head gladiator the others develop absolutely no identities of their own. Hardly like the Seven Ronin or the American The Magnificent Seven.In this one the ten gladiators are tricked into leading a vicious Roman Senator into the camp of Spartacus. Later on the gladiators lead a pack of newly freed slaves into rescuing Spartacus from a Roman trap set by that selfsame Senator. That's about the sum and substance of the film that no one will ever confuse with the Stanley Kubrick classic.Besides, I thought Spartacus was a gladiator, wasn't he?

ma-cortes 71 B.C. during the rebellion of Spartacus , a gladiator named Rocca (Dan Vadis)and his band of fellows gladiators (Sal Borgese, Vassili Karis, Pietro Torrisi, Jeff Cameron... )flee from Coliseum. After that ,they save the damsel in distress , a senator 's daughter (Ursula Davis) . They're well received by the senator Varro (Gianni Rizzo) , though are poisoned and locked . Later on, they escape and join forces with Spartacus (Ivano Staccioli, alias John Heston) to fight patrician senator Varro. Spartacus wants return to Tracia and is waiting some ships. Ten gladiators are faced at every turn by Roman army. Meanwhile Rocca falls in love with Daliah(Helga Line) and then must rescue her from slavery and death. The slavers are building an aqueduct and the gladiators attack the detachment.This is the second part in the ¨ Ten gladiators trilogy¨. It packs action, fights , sword-play, adventures and some touches of humor . Ample support cast formed by muscle-men and regular from Western and Peplum as Enzo Fiermonte, Jeff Cameron,Pietro Torrisi who in the 80s as Peter McCoy played several sword and witchery movies and Ricardo Pizzuti as Roman soldier , he's usual in Terence Hill-Spencer movies. As comic relief appears Sal Borgese, a sympathetic secondary playing a deaf-mute. Good production values with spectacular final battle full of extras and stock-shots from previous Roman films . It's shot in Rome, Lazio and Barcelona, Cataluña, because it's a co-production Spanish/ Italian produced by Alfonso Balcazar . Atmospheric score by Carlo Savina with catching musical leitmotif, he's usual of Western and substituting to Angelo Francesco Lavagnino who composed the first entry. Cheesy edition by Bruno Mattei, later famous director of ¨Z¨ Italian films.The motion picture is professionally directed by Nick Nostro.The best installment is the first titled ¨I dice gladiatori(1963) or Ten gladiators¨ by Gianfranco Parolini with Roger Browne, Jose Greci and Dan Vavis as Rocca who dies at the end ; here the gladiators taking on Nero, Gianni Rizzo, and his henchman Tijelinus . It's followed by ¨Spartacus and ten gladiators¨ and the third outing titled ¨Triumph of ten gladiators or Il Trionfo dei Dieci Gladiators ¨ again by Nick Nostro and Gianni Rizzo as evil villain.

Maciste_Brother I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had while watching SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS. It's starts up with an action packed beginning with the gladiators battling in an arena and never let's up until the end. Though nothing earth-shattering about SATTG, I was amazed by how focused and assured the direction was by Nick Nostro. There's almost no wasted moment in the entire film. Even the moments of comedy work and never get trite. The story about the ten gladiators teaming with Spartacus to over-throw an evil and corrupt Roman ruler is not to be taken as seriously as Stanley Kubrick's version of the legendary rebel but oddly enough, in this case, it works, this mostly due to the sharp direction by Nostro who never takes it too seriously and knows this is all about action, action, action.Unlike THE TEN GLADIATORS, the melodrama in SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS is kept to a minimum. The same with the comedy bits, which was really annoying in the first film (no midget here). The music is pretty good. The color scheme is actually tasteful (for a Peplum). And the acting, though nothing remotely memorable, is much better than its predecessor. The gang really click here and, again, because of the focused direction, the ten gladiators stand out better here. Dan Vadis is fun and seems to enjoy himself. The only real weakness, like the first film, is the underdeveloped explanation for the beefy bunch. Why are they together? What are their names? The script is seriously underwritten in this respect. The same could be said for the villains. Though suitably evil in a campy way, the pudgy Roman ruler and his henchman are hardly worthy adversaries to ten powerful gladiators. This series needed worthy bad guys to probably make it more memorable. And the battle sequence at the climax is probably footage from another film, which is unfortunate and lowers the merit of the whole film as a whole.But even with these obvious weaknesses, SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS has several stand-out scenes in it, including the beginning in the arena, the fighting between Vadis' character and Spartacus. The many battles sequences, which are sharply edited. The funny moments when the ten gladiators start eliminating the Roman soldiers. But the most memorable moment in the whole film is when Vadis, along with other slaves, hangs from a tree by a rope wrapped around a single arm (ouch). Then the Roman soldiers start killing the men hanging there with bows and arrows. Visually, this whole scene is a knock-out. The conclusion, with chariot and horses, is also visually striking. These moments tell me that director Nick Nostro had some talent for action. His style reminds me a bit of Sergio Leone.Like in all these kind of films, the beefcake quota is pretty high. Vadis looks quite impressive here: agile and yet powerful. The actors playing the other 9 gladiators, whoever they are, are believable in their roles. Also, there are a couple of beautiful women in the movie. Ursula Davis is pretty but Helga Line is the babe in the movie. She really looks exotic. Incidentally, I recently caught Helga in the dreadful THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE and even though she basically looks the same, if a bit older, she didn't look as "exotic" in it as in SATTG. Like I said, I was surprised by how much of a good time I had while watching this film. SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS is a Sword and Sandal film waiting to be rediscovered. A proper widescreen transfer is in order. I'm certain my estimation of it would grow even more.